Road to The Show™: Phillies’ Miller
Each week, MiLB.com profiles an elite prospect by chronicling the steps he's taken toward achieving his Major League dream. Here's a look at top Phillies prospect Aidan Miller. For more stories about players on The Road to The Show, click here.
The Phillies have not been shy about challenging their top prospect, Aidan Miller.
In his first full season, the 20-year-old advanced from Single-A Clearwater to High-A Jersey Shore and, last week, was promoted again to Double-A Reading.
Across three levels, Miller is batting .261/.366/.446 with 11 homers, 28 doubles, six triples, 60 RBIs and 23 stolen bases. MLB Pipeline’s No. 28 overall prospect is one of only five Minor Leaguers with as many doubles, triples and steals so far this season.
So far, Miller’s considerable power has been to the gaps. But those doubles should translate into more homers as he matures and gets stronger. The 6-foot-1, 205-pound infielder has a contact-first approach and has not looked overmatched against older or advanced competition.
Defensively, a shift to the hot corner from his natural position at shortstop has seemed inevitable since his amateur days -- especially as he matures physically. But he’s played exclusively at short in the Minors. His lone pro appearance at third base so far came during the Phillies’ Spring Breakout game against the Tigers.
“The second this kid stepped foot in the organization, I could’ve told you that he’s going to be ready for all challenges that come his way, just from the way he’s made, from a work ethic standpoint, from a mentality standpoint [and] how driven he is,” Phillies assistant general manager of player development Preston Mattingly told MLB.com last week. “He wants the challenges. And we just thought at this point, it’s time to challenge him. Let the upper-level competition gauge his offseason. If he struggles with a certain thing up there, it will help build a blueprint for his offseason. And if he goes up there and performs really well, it’s not going to change who he is.”
The Dunedin, Florida, native was born into the game of baseball. His father, Jason, was drafted by the Rangers in 1994 and his brother, Jackson, was a catcher in the Reds’ system before retiring this year.
Aidan Miller was something of a baseball prodigy, showing up on the national radar as early as middle school. He began a long career with USA Baseball that included three National Team appearances and three years in the National Team Development Program in 2016 on the 12U National Team that played in the COPABE Pan Am "A" Championship gold medal game. He was a member of the 2018 14U National Team Development Program, to which he’d return in 2021 and 2022.
He played in the U-15 Baseball World Cup Americas in 2019 and, in 2022, he led Team USA to a Gold Medal at the U-18 Baseball World Cup. Miller started all nine games of the tournament in right field, won the tournament’s batting title and was named to the All-World Team.
Over his first three seasons at J.W. Mitchell High School in New Port Richey, Florida, Miller batted .385 (72-for-187) with eight homers, 47 RBIs and a 1.176 OPS.
During the 2022 All-Star break at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, Miller was the MVP of the High School All-American Game and took home the title in the High School Home Run Derby.
Miller obviously had national recognition by the time he was Draft eligible last year. But he suffered a broken hamate bone in his left hand in his first at-bat of his senior season. The injury may have caused him to slip in the Draft.
MLB Pipeline ranked Miller as the No. 13 prospect in his class. The Phillies, who were infatuated with his bat-to-ball skills and raw power, jumped on him with the No. 27 overall pick.
Miller signed for just above slot value at $3.1 million to forgo his commitment to the University of Arkansas and begin his pro career.
He hit the ground running in the Rookie-level Florida Complex League, going 12-for-29 (.414) with a 1.011 OPS in 10 games. The Phillies bumped him up to Clearwater, where he showed some initial struggles before a strong postseason. In six games in the Florida State League playoffs, Miller went 8-for-23 (.348) and clubbed his first professional homer as the Threshers fell to Jupiter in the championship round.
Miller was hitless in two at-bats in his first and only Grapefruit League contest this spring. In the Spring Breakout game, he went 1-for-2 with an RBI single.
He returned to Clearwater to open the regular season and was hot out of the gate, batting .327 with four homers and 21 RBIs in his first 27 games. The Phillies promoted Miller to Jersey Shore in June and again showed some initial struggles before a terrific August. Over 25 games, he batted .299 with a .907 OPS, 13 extra-base hits and 16 RBIs.
In his final South Atlantic League game on Sept. 1, Miller went 5-for-5 with a homer and a double and was promoted to Reading the following day.
Miller’s season is likely to end this week as the Fightins’, who are not in Eastern League playoff contention, play their final series of the season. It’s also likely that he’ll return to Double-A to start next season, perhaps seeing more time at the hot corner as he continues to progress.